


Hidden In Plain Sight

by callidryas



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: F/M, Long haul fic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Slow Build, Slow Burn, first person POV, future fluff, future smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-11 20:11:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19933819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callidryas/pseuds/callidryas
Summary: Sunny's been having trouble keeping her YouTube channel afloat, so when the Grumps contact her about a special guest appearance, she is over the moon. Of course, the story can't be that simple, though. Love and romance just have to be somewhere, hidden in plain sight.





	1. Sisyphus

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm trying a new thing where I just let the words flow instead of falling down a hole of doubting myself into just not writing at all, which of course isn't healthy. Hopefully, that'll get me more motivated to write and I'll update pretty often. No promises, though! -Sunny <3

“That’s all, everybody! Thanks for watching! Bye!” I switched off my camera and stopped the screen capture after signing off. Another video was done, ready to be edited later. I breathed in and out deeply. The stress was starting to get to me. Actually, it had been getting to me for a while. My YouTube channel had been losing subscribers for months now. I had tried everything I could think of to bring in new people. I’d played games that fans had requested, played games I wanted to play, done collabs with other people, filmed comedy sketches with friends, and even done a meet-and-greet in downtown LA. Nothing was helping. My revenue had come only from the channel and merch, and I was extremely thankful that I could do what I loved for a living, but things were getting to the point where I would have to get a part-time job if things kept declining at the same rate. That thought was terrifying. I was afraid that I wouldn’t have enough time to film and edit videos, and eventually, I’d have to give up the channel entirely. I’d spent sleepless nights thinking about that, even edging on a panic attack at one point before finally being able to calm myself down.

To top everything, my mental health had been declining, too. The constant stress of trying to please everyone around me lead to anxiety headaches and depression, although the depression had been there before. I’d dealt with that since I was a teenager, but the anxiety had brought it back with a vengeance. After months of this, I stopped taking care of myself properly. I tried to appear healthy on-screen but behind the scenes, I was miserable. I was wracked with constant colds and felt sick to my stomach all the time. I was slowly killing myself through self-doubt, making myself sick of my voice in my head and the constant late nights spent worrying and editing.

Until an email arrived one day. I groggily opened my eyes and looked at the clock sitting on my bedside table. It read 4:27 p.m. I’d taken a nap after a particularly late night. I lied to myself that I spent more time editing than worrying. My phone was lit up on the table with a notification. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and reached out to grab it. Unfortunately, I ended up knocking it off the table and onto the floor. _Fuck,_ I thought. _I should probably get up anyway. I have more work to do._ I uncovered myself from under the blanket and sat up, stretching and popping my muscles and joints. I picked up my phone from the floor and sat back on my bed with my legs crisscrossed. There was a notification from someone from at address I didn’t recognize. I swiped it open.

The email said, 

“Dear SunshineGaming, 

This is Arin from the GameGrumps. A friend of mine found your channel recently, and we were wondering if you would like to be a guest on our show sometime soon. Please let us know if you are interested.

Thanks,

Arin.”

 _Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit._ The GameGrumps wanted to collab with me! I didn’t know what to think! I knew at that moment that this was the moment I had been waiting for. This was the push I needed to get out of my slump. I responded immediately, saying I was absolutely interested and was available any time this week.

The rest of that day, I could barely keep myself under control during filming and slipped up while talking a few times. 

Arin answered back a few hours later. He asked if Saturday was okay to film, and of course, I said that was perfect. He sent me the address, and everything was set in stone. I would be filming a power hour with Arin and Dan on Saturday. Arin said he wanted to introduce me to the rest of the Grumps first, though, so we were all going to get lunch beforehand at a sushi restaurant closeby. Today was Thursday. I had to wait a full two days until I got to meet everyone _and_ film a video with Dan and Arin. I was practically vibrating with nerves and excitement.

The next day, Friday, I was a little less nervous. I tried to relax and tidy my apartment up some. I didn’t realize I had let things go so far until I found a box of Chinese takeout I didn’t remember ordering. It was so rancid, the only reason I knew it was Chinese food was the logo on the top of the box. The lid was clear, so I could see white and green fuzz growing here and there on unrecognizable brown sludge. I didn’t dare open the box, fearing the smell and alien eggs that might be inside. Yeah, it was that gross.

After about two hours straight of cleaning up around the house, I sat back on my couch to look at my hard work. Three trash bags laid by the front door, waiting to be taken to the dumpster. The house smelled like Febreze and dust. My feet and back ached. But it was worth it.

I got up to take the trash out to the dumpster, finishing my two-hour long venture of cleaning everything.

Saturday came. I woke up early. Well, early in my book. My alarm went off at nine o’clock. I tried not to stay up too late the night before, although I forced myself to go to bed at around one o’clock. I got out of bed and grabbed my phone and went into the bathroom. I turned on my BlueTooth speaker which connected to my phone and some harsh punk rock almost loud enough for the neighbors to hear. Getting into the shower, I knew it was going to be an awesome day.


	2. Sushi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sunny gets lunch with the Grumps, but she is wracked with nerves. Hopefully, she can overcome them and make friends with everyone.

I spent all morning making myself presentable to meet everyone. I tried not to look too fancy, but I couldn't help my feeling that I needed to impress everyone. I ended up wearing a black tee shirt with a small sunflower on the breast pocket and a comfy pair of jeans. I brought a light jacket, too, just in case the restaurant was especially chilly.

Arin’s email said to meet everyone at the restaurant at noon. Feeling nervous about traffic, I left a little early. The restaurant wasn’t that far from my house, but LA traffic could be a bitch. 

I grabbed my purse and went out the front door. My hands were starting to clam up with nerves. These people were my _idols,_ and they wanted _me_ on their show. The odds of all this happening had to be slim to none. I mean, What are the chances that I would start a YouTube channel that started to go under, and of all the people to try to help, the Grumps were right there to save the day. Everything felt like a dream, and one day I would wake up and my channel would be dead and I’d have to get a nine-to-five that I only go to every morning because of the money. That kind of life just wasn’t for me. I needed some kind of interaction with people, an outlet for my creativity. Sometimes that meant screaming at a character for not doing what I wanted them to do, or talking to fans on Twitter about upcoming meet-and-greets and fan art and collabs. I couldn’t stand the thought of having a “normal” life, even if it seemed like a childish thing to think of.

The drive to the restaurant wasn’t too bad. It took about as long as I figured it would, and I arrived right at noon. I parked my car by the door and stepped out, grabbing my keys and purse. It was a little mom-and-pop place. I opened the door with a ding above my head. I carefully stepped into the building, suddenly feeling all my nerves crash back into my system. Looking around, I saw Arin’s head poking out from the top of a nearby booth. A hostess walked up to me and said, “Just the one?” I stammered a bit before replying, “I, um, I’m meeting some friends, actually, but thank you.” She nodded at me and walked off, probably tending to something back in the kitchen.

I took in a deep breath, telling myself everything was going to be okay. What’s the worst that could go wrong? I walked over to Arin’s booth and saw Suzy and Ross were there, too. “Hi,” I said nervously. “Hi, Sunny! Dan and Barry should be here any minute. Go ahead and sit down,” he replied. He held out his hand for me to shake. I took it and sat down. As if on queue, a ding sounded from the front door. Dan and Barry walked in, laughing and talking. Arin waved at them, catching their attention. They smiled and came over. Barry sat down next to Arin, while Dan sat next to me. The booth was rather large, so it wasn’t like we all had to squish together to fit in, but fitting six people in one booth meant there wasn’t a whole lot of wiggle room. Not that I was complaining, though. Sitting between Dan and Ross wasn’t the worst situation in the world.

A waitress came to our table with a small notebook in hand. “Can I get some drinks for you all?” Everyone ordered their drinks; I only got water. Considering I hadn’t been taking the best care of myself recently, I could probably use it. The waitress left after we all thanked her and said that was all.

I opened the menu laying on the table in front of me, perusing the various entrees, rolls, and soups they had to offer. I decided on the spider roll and miso after a few minutes of skimming over everything. I set the menu back on the table and looked up at everyone sitting around me. Arin sat his elbows on the table, resting his chin in his hands. I suddenly felt very awkward, like I was in a box that was just small enough for my head to touch the top, making it impossible to stand up completely straight. I fiddled with my hands. I didn’t know what to say. Should I start a conversation? Should someone else do it? Would they think I was a pushover? Did I dress nice enough? Oh, God, I should have worn a dress. They all think I’m a slob now. I should have-

“So, Sunny, are you excited to film later?” Danny asked. He pulled me from my downward spiral of anxiety. It took me a moment to register what he had asked me. He looked at me, waiting until I replied. “Uh, yeah! I’m really excited.” Oh, god, I sounded like a little kid trying to sound cool in front of my older brother’s friends. “Awesome! We always love having guests on our show,” he said. Okay, maybe I was overthinking things. Maybe I was doubting myself a little too much. These guys were pretty nice.

I asked what was planned for the show later, but Arin laughed and said, “Oh no, Sunny, it’s gonna be a _surprise._ ” He wiggled his eyebrows at the last word, making me giggle. The waitress came back with our drinks, asking if we were ready to order our food. We all nodded. She went through the table in a circle, finally getting to me. I ordered my sushi and miso soup and handed her my menu. Dan ordered a spicy tuna roll and crab wontons. Once the waitress left with our orders, Arin leaned toward Dan a little. He said, “Are you sure you can handle that, hot stuff?” A grin spread across Dan’s face as he giggled. “Oh, shut up, asshole,” he laughed. I started to giggle, too. He looked over at me, and maybe it was the dim lighting in the restaurant, but I think he actually _blushed_ a bit. 

I suddenly felt embarrassed, like maybe I had been let in on a secret I wasn’t supposed to know, or I had seen something I wasn’t supposed to see. I looked down at my lap. I picked up my phone, not really checking for any notifications. I just needed something to do with my hands. Nothing interesting was happening at the moment, unfortunately. I decided to just put my phone down for the rest of the meal. My mom always told me it was rude to be on my phone at the table anyway.

Everyone continued with casual banter and chit-chat. People asked me if I had seen any Grumps stuff online. I said, “Yeah! I’ve actually been a fan for a while.” Dan spoke up, “Oh, cool! I’ve actually seen some of your videos, too. You’re a pretty cool girl.” This time it was my turn to blush. I never took compliments well, but for some reason, this guy was really getting to me. “Aw, thanks,” I murmured. 

The waitress came back once again with several plates of food. I got my sushi and miso soup and started happily slurping up the hot liquid while listening to the conversations around me. I was too shy to actually join in on any of it, though. I looked over at Dan to see what he was talking about, but he wasn’t talking to anyone. He seemed to be as uncomfortable as I was. He noticed I was looking at him, and I felt a little guilty for staring. I hadn’t realized I was staring until he looked back at me. He brushed a handful of hair from in front of his face. He smiled around a piece of sushi in his mouth, and I giggled at the messy sight. “You’re gross, dude,” I laughed. He finished chewing and wiped his mouth with a napkin from his lap. “I try my best,” he replied. He shined that wonderful dorky grin again, and my heart fluttered.

 _Fuck,_ I thought. _I can’t get a crush this soon. I literally just met him! Well, actually, I’ve been watching Grumps videos for years. So I probably know him way better than he knows me._ I tried to hide another blush by stuffing my face full of more sushi. I couldn’t let him get to me, at least not after what happened last time.

What happened last time was that I fell for a guy really hard and fast. I was head over heels for him, but he barely liked me at all. We went on a few dates, had a first kiss, even had sex after a few months together, but the morning after, he bailed. He wouldn’t answer any texts or calls asking where he was or what had happened. He completely ghosted, and like that, the guy I was in love with left me without even telling me why. Any kind of closure was a distant afterthought that he didn’t seem to care that much about. Either that or he just didn’t care as much about me as I thought he did. That happened a little over a year ago, and at this point, I was okay with being single, but now that wall I had built was starting to crack, and all because of a dorky grin. Shit.

After we all finished lunch, I insisted that I paid for my meal, but Arin refused, saying that, “Since today was a company lunch, it’ll go on the company card,” which really just meant that he was paying for us all. After a little more pushing I finally gave up. I just felt bad that he had taken me out for such a nice lunch and I didn’t have anything to thank him with.

After paying, we thanked the waitress and hostess and made our way outside to the parking lot. Dan held the door for me, making him the last person out. He asked from behind me, “You have the address, right?” I turned around and nodded. “Yup!” I exclaimed. I got to my car, sending a little wave toward him and everyone else. “See you guys in a few!” I said. I opened the door and sat down. I waited a moment to actually start it, just taking a deep breath in and out. That hadn’t been bad at all, and I even found a guy I thought was kind of cute. Too bad he probably had a girlfriend or didn’t think anything of me. He probably just acted like that around everyone. He just held the door for me since he was a gentleman.

I took another deep breath, started the car, and began driving to the Grump space. Even if he didn’t like me like that, I got to hang out with some new friends. And if he did like me, then maybe he’d ask me out one day. _Oh no,_ I thought, _I’m going way too fast. We just met a little over an hour ago! He was probably just being nice._ Worry filled my head again like yesterday.

After a few minutes, I arrived at the space. I took another deep breath in and out. It was just an hour, and then I could go home. _Maybe he’ll ask for my number? No, it’s still too early. We should just hang out as friends for a while first._ I was desperate not to come off as desperate. My anxiety made my hands shaky. _Breathe in, breathe out._ My thoughts were getting to me. I couldn’t let them get to me. Everything was going to be fine. We were just going to film a Power Hour, and that was it. _Everything is going to be fine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll try to upload another chapter tonight, but I might have to make up for it tomorrow. Don't forget to leave kudos if you enjoyed it! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Doing short updates but I'll be trying to do two or three chapters each day. Hope you liked it!


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